Neck pain is one of the most common types of pain, with around 15% of adults suffering from it. The causes of chronic pain or a stiff neck vary from person to person. Regardless of the reason you’re feeling uncomfortable, you don’t have to live each day with pain.
Even if you’re doing at-home treatments to help relieve the pain, a chiropractor can address the cause of your discomfort and treat it at its source. They don’t try to mask your pain with medications. Chiropractors seek to find out what’s causing you pain and remedy the issue.
Working with a chiropractor for neck pain can give you immense relief. This guide will go over the benefits of visiting a chiropractor and what they can do to help you live pain-free days.
Common Causes of Neck Pain
The muscles, bones, and ligaments of your neck allow your head to move around and provide support. Any injury or inflammation can result in stiffness or neck pain.
Poor posture and overuse can cause discomfort in your neck. However, neck pain is sometimes caused by whiplash, contact sports, or an injury. The pain can often go away within a few days, but if you experience prolonged discomfort, you should seek medical attention.
Some common causes of neck pain include the following:
- Muscle strain and tension from behaviours and activities like:
- Sitting at a desk for too long
- Sleeping crooked
- Jerking your neck while exercising
- Poor posture
- Injury from sports, car accidents, or falls
- Osteoporosis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Herniated cervical disc
If your pain lasts for longer than a week and is accompanied by other symptoms, make an appointment with your local chiropractor.
When to See a Chiropractor
One of the most important things you need to do when you experience neck pain is address the reason why the pain is occurring. When you make an appointment with a chiropractor, they’ll evaluate your symptoms and make a diagnosis.
There are a few reasons you shouldn’t hesitate to make an appointment. They include the following:
- Not being able to look right or left without severe pain
- Your neck doesn’t feel better after a few days
- You’re continually using pain medication to get through the day
- You’re worried about your neck pain
- You’re beginning to experience numbness, tingling, or pain in your arms
- Your neck feels worse in the morning
- You start feeling neck pain a few days after being in a car accident
If you’re feeling any of the above symptoms, contact a chiropractor. They will assess your physical health and create a personalized treatment plan for you based on your symptoms.
What Does a Chiropractor Do for the Neck?
During your first chiropractic appointment, your chiropractor will look at your entire spine. They need to evaluate it as a whole because different regions of the neck, low back, and mid-back may be affected by what’s causing you pain as well. Chiropractors are focused on treating the “whole person.”
As they examine you, they’ll determine what areas have restricted movement. They’ll also observe how you walk, your overall posture, and spinal alignment. This will help them understand how your body moves.
Your chiropractor will also ask you about your past medical history and may require you to get some imaging done, like an MRI or x-ray. This will help them determine the exact cause of what’s causing your neck pain.
Chiropractic Techniques
A combination of manual therapy, spinal manipulation, and other chiropractic techniques may be used by your chiropractor during your treatment. They may also employ gentle chiropractic adjustment techniques to help reduce your pain.
Cervical Mobilization
While lying on your back in a relaxed position, the chiropractor will manually move the vertebra of your neck left to right. They’ll alternate between a figure-eight movement and a side to side motion. They’ll also apply different degrees of moving your head backwards, forward, in rotation, and to the side.
This is a non-thrust and smooth type of stretch. The goal is to reduce areas or fixations where your neck’s motion is restricted.
Cervical Manual Traction
With this technique, you’ll be sitting or lying face up. Your chiropractor will start by gently pulling on your neck. They’ll stretch your cervical spine while changing the angle between forward and backwards. This all depends on your level of comfort and looking for the best angle that provides you neck pain relief.
The cervical manual traction technique is typically combined with cervical mobilization. Your chiropractor may do both techniques simultaneously or switch between the two.
Cervical Drop Technique
During this treatment, you’ll lie on your stomach or on your side. You’ll be on a special table in which the place where you rest your head is lifted into a locked position. Your chiropractor will place their finger and/or hand over the area of your spine that needs adjustment.
At a high or medium velocity, non-thrust, or low amplitude thrust, your chiropractor will start increasing pressure with their hand. The pressure is applied until the headpiece or drop section of the table releases and drops.
The goal of the cervical drop technique is to reduce the restricted motion of the vertebra with the assistance of the special table. There is no twisting or rotation of the neck/head with this traditional type of adjustment. You may not experience the typical “crack” with it either.
Whatever treatment plan your chiropractor comes up with, they’ll ensure you’re comfortable with every technique. Their goal is for you to be comfortable and have pain relief.
Seek Chiropractic Care for Neck Pain Relief
No matter the cause of your neck pain, seeking help from a chiropractor can give you immense relief from any discomfort you’re experiencing. Get to the cause of why you’re uncomfortable instead of masking or ignoring the pain. Their holistic approach and customized treatment plans will get you on the road to recovery in no time.
For more information on chiropractors and how they can help you, check out our blog. We can also help connect you with a chiropractor in the Singapore area. Visit our website for more details.
